Five reef islands have disappeared from the Pacific’s Solomon Islands and six more have been severely damaged due to rising sea levels and coastal erosion, according to new research.

Studying the relationship between sea level rise and wave exposure in the “global sea-level rise hotspot,” a team of Australian researchers found rising waters are taking a significant toll on the islands.

“At least 11 islands across the northern Solomon Islands have either totally disappeared over recent decades or are currently experiencing severe erosion,” according to the study published in Environmental Research Letters. Source